Was Tutankhamun’s Coronation Delayed? Making sense of the Ascendance of Pharaoh Aye

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Collection of Egyptian Art, design by Anand Balaji (Photo credits: Heidi Kontkanen, Dave Rudin, and Dmitry Denisenkov); Deriv.

Was Tutankhamun’s Coronation Delayed? Making sense of the Ascendance of Pharaoh Aye

One of ancient Egypt’s best-kept secrets is the identity of the mysterious Amarna Period royal, Smenkhkare. Who, after all, was he or she? Scholars have offered a bouquet of possible candidates ranging from Akhenaten’s putative younger brother, to Nefertiti, Meritaten and even the ill-fated Hittite prince who voyaged to the land, on invitation, in the hope of becoming pharaoh, only to be done to death at the border. Could the installation of Nebkheperure Tutankhamun as pharaoh have occurred at a much later date than previously believed? If yes, who was in control of Egypt during this time?

The beautifully sculpted face of one of Akhenaten’s colossal statues that was purposefully wrecked, when the shrines and sanctuaries he had dedicated to the Aten were dismantled during the Amarna backlash. Karnak Temple. Luxor Museum.

The beautifully sculpted face of one of Akhenaten’s colossal statues that was purposefully wrecked, when the shrines and sanctuaries he had dedicated to the Aten were dismantled during the Amarna backlash. Karnak Temple. Luxor Museum.

AN ASSAULT ON THE KING’S PERSON?

One of the first tasks that Pharaoh Neferkheperure-waenre Akhenaten undertook in Regnal Year 5 when he set foot in the city he had newly established, Akhetaten, was to set up a series of Boundary Stelae. On these, he not only recorded his reasons for choosing the site and his unmistakable devotion for the solar deity, the Aten, but also—and intriguingly—made a veiled reference to the events of the time that continues to confound readers.


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